Hat Tools, Engravers, Etc.

[Andykev]

Does anyone collect or have in their collection any neat hat strechers, blocks, irons, or ....can you guess what this is?

I got this on Ebay about a year ago. I have seen them go for well over $1000. I looked hard and long for one...and got it! It is in very good condition, with no missing parts or broken wood. If you have ever seen one, tried it on, and examined it carefully, you know how intricate and detailed they are...

Now I need the other part to complete the set!!

 

[Marc]

Holy smokes, that has to be the most classic conformer I've ever seen. I've only seen some in plastic or metal before, but never in wood. Looks like a piece of art.

Would you please explain what you mean with "the other part"?

Regards,

Marc

 

[Matt Deckard]

Beautiful conformature.

Have you ever used it?

 

[Renderking Fisk]

That IS a piece of art... and if you'll pardon me-

"It belongs in a Museum!"

 

[Matt Deckard]

"It belongs in a Museum!"

let me stick my head in it first!

 

[Andykev]

The other part..

Yes, I have used it, and for those who don't know:

It is a device you put on your head, and wooden fingers (like the hammers inside a piano) stretch out perfectly outlining your head shape. You take a piece of card stock and put it on top, and close the lid. Little pins matching the position of the "fingers" poke holes in the cardboard. You then take the cardboard and put it into the conformer (looks like a hat stretcher). It adjusts outward from the wood ring with similar wood fingers, lining up with the holes poked in cardboard. Then the hatter has an exact mold of your shaped head so the hat can be formed perfectly to you! Not many of these left, many are borken and missing pieces. If you see one on Ebay..and it's broken..I hope you are skilled...these things are complicated.

 

[Pyroxene]

Why don't more hatters use them today? You think you would see modern versions of these things. Surely they could be made out of metal or hard plastic and get the same results.